He's Alive!

The Friday before Easter Sunday is celebrated by many as "Good Friday," because tradition holds that Jesus was crucified and died on the Friday before Easter Sunday. There's an old song by Carman entitled, "Sunday's on the Way." While his message is good, reminding us that when life's problems come and seem to bury us, there is hope because of the Resurrection, his words are, "It may seem like Friday night, but Sunday's on the way." Well, since we know what he means, we get the message, and it certainly is a good one. Still, that catchy line is rooted in the Good Friday tradition. While traditions can be fine, we should want our traditions to be rooted in Scripture.

In the twelfth chapter of Matthew, Jesus heals and delivers a demon-possessed man who is also blind and mute. On the heels of this miracle he is caught up in a discussion with the Pharisees. This religious group of Jews were quite caught up in tradition. They accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of "Beelzebub, the prince of demons." After Jesus eloquently explains the foolishness of their premise, they ask him for a miraculous sign, to which Jesus responds:

A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

That's a prophetic word from Jesus himself. He would be a full three days and nights in the grave. The problem with the the Friday hypothesis is that there is only a day and a half from Friday night until Sunday morning. You only have part of Friday night, all day Saturday, and Saturday night.

One piece of the puzzle is very clear. Jesus rose around dawn on Sunday.

After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb (Matthew 28:1)

Counting backward from the Resurrection on Sunday morning, we find that Jesus was in the grave three nights (Saturday, Friday, and Thursday) and three days (Saturday, Friday, and Thursday).

A careful reading of Matthew 27 makes it clear. In the evening after Jesus was crucified a rich man name Joseph from Arimathaea came to Pilate asking for the body of Jesus. Pilate granted his request. They take down the body of Jesus, and hurriedly prepare it because this is the week of Passover, and there are limits to what they can do. It is a time of holy convocation in which they are very limited in what work they can do. The clincher is in verses 62-64. We read here:

The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and the Pharisees went to Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while he was still alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order for the tomb to be made secure until the third day.

This is the scenario that fits with Scripture. He was three days (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) and three nights (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights).

Then Sunday morning, the stone rolled away, and Jesus rose from the grave! He's alive! Now we rejoice together with these words from Don Francisco's song, "He's Alive."

"He's alive and I'm forgiven. Heavens gates are open wide. He's alive! He's alive! He's alive!"

Happy Easter, Have a blessed Resurrection Day!